Not so Bad
by NutellaPlantpot
Summary: It's the middle of winter, the Hospital is short staffed and Serena and Henrik are clashing about how best to deal with the situation... but will working together with the Swede be as bad as she first thought? Please review! It will make my day!


A cold mist enveloped the Holby Hospital car park, and a heavy shower of rain drizzled overhead as Serena parked her car and walked to the main entrance, her small block heels sliding slightly on the frosty tarmac, although she was carful enough to avoid slipping over on any black ice. Michael, who was stood just inside the doorway with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand, (not for her, sadly) would surely be disappointed. However, when she reached the entrance, she was surprised. Michael pressed the coffee into her cold hands, and they headed for the lift together.

"What was that for?" Serena asked, wondering what ulterior motive the American could possibly have for such a random act of kindness.

"Well, umm…" He said, judging Serena's mood, which was greatly improved at the prospect of missing the queue for a steaming cup of coffee.

"Go on…" Serena sighed, knowing that whatever it was she wasn't going to like it… why else would he have got her the coffee?

"Well, I've had to cancel your electives for AAU, you are needed on Keller, they are 2 people down, Nurse Marconie, and Mo Effanga, and you have to take over Miss Effanga's theatre slots, although there are only 3, and we are diverting emergencies' to Darwin, Chrissie has been placed on there to deal with the over-spill… Sounds okay in theory, but we are going to be 2 people down on AAU and how on earth is that supposed to work? It would seem that the ridiculously clever Swede, who goes by the name of Henrik Hansen thinks it would be a good idea…" Michael said, trailing off as he clocked her less than impressed facial expression, which right that moment resembled the kind of scowl a teenager would give their parent for taking away their phone.

" That bloody man, I swear he's out to cause trouble, he really must be. God, just you wait until I get my hands on him… he'll be lucky if he still has a pair of functioning arms to change around the bloody schedule with." Serena moaned, as Michael, who had the disadvantage to be able to see the ranting woman's face tried not to laugh, giggle or smirk, which would not be a wise move if he ever wanted to father anymore children…

He was relieved when the lift doors pinged open, and Serena got out, and he only wished he could see her face, and Henrik's also for that matter, when she was able to tell him exactly what she thought of his staffing arrangements…

Serena was fuming. She burst into Hansen's office, and before the look of surprise had vanished from his face it was replaced with another at the sight of the very… murderous looking woman on the war path.

This was not going to go well.

"Ahh… Serena, what can I do for you?" He asked, smoothly, earning him a withering glare from the seething surgeon.

"You can bloody well change the staff rota, do you seriously think AAU is going to cope with 2 staff under, when it's short staffed anyway? There's going to be 8 people on a ward that should have 14 staff on, and come on, how on earth can Michael be expected to cope with that? He's like an over- exited kid at Christmas." Serena fumed, looking at Hansen like she was about to… castrate him.

"Look, I understand it's not ideal, far from it, but we have to work with what we have, and at the moment those resources are thin on the ground. We all need to pull together, and if we're all still alive and the hospital's still standing by the end of the shift I'll buy you a drink, tonight." The swede said, neatly stacking pens, a little OCD habit of his.

Serena looked astounded. One, the Big swede, who never admitted he was wrong, was admitting his plan wasn't exactly fool proof (which was what was needed when it was concerning Digby and the other hopeless F1's) and also the fact he was offering to buy her a drink…

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all…


End file.
